Hendrick not off to a quick sprint

An early Easter break in the Sprint Cup season is as good a time as any to assess what has gone on in the first five races.

The obvious top topic is the lack of victories by Hendrick Motorsports.

The team, which won four of the first six races a year ago, is 0-for-Victory Lane this season.

The top driver on the team this year is newbie Dale Earnhardt Jr., the only member of the team inside the magic 12 in owner points, at fifth.

Jeff Gordon (14th) and last year's champion, Jimmie Johnson (13th), are just outside the that elite group.

Why the difficulty for the usually unstoppable Hendrick team? Several reasons.

For one, it's hard to maintain dominance in this sport. The rest of the teams are just too good. Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Roush Fenway and even Penske Racing have done their homework in the offseason and stepped up their games.

Gibbs, especially, with Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart, has shown it's a team which will be a force every week. The Childress and Roush teams have each won two of the first five events.

The other factor in the equation is the former Car of Tomorrow, which encourages parity — and so far has performed as advertised.

For Hendrick, or any team for that matter, there's no reason to panic. The season is young and there is a lot of racing left.

This next stretch, from Martinsville to Texas to Phoenix to Talladega, covers a variety of tracks where teams can really show their true colors.

And the weather should get warmer and drier, which will be a relief for everyone.

MAKING TRACKS:

Watching the Nationwide Series race from Nashville on Saturday afternoon brought home the fact that there are a lot of great racetracks in this country.

Certainly there are the big fan favorites like Daytona, Indianapolis, Darlington, Bristol and Talladega.

There are exciting road courses like Road America, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta.

But the smaller tracks which have sprung up or been renovated over the last 10 to 15 years, like Nashville, Gateway, Memphis Motorsports Park, Kentucky Speedway and the new Iowa Speedway, are little jewels.

Kentucky Speedway, located in Sparta, has been very active in attempting to acquire a Sprint Cup date. Certainly Nashville, Gateway and Iowa would love one, too.

The Cup schedule is awfully crowded right now. And unless there is a major overhaul — unlikely in the immediate future — these tracks will probably have to be content with Nationwide and Craftsman Truck events, as well as IndyCar events.

Sprint Cup race or not, these are wonderful venues and are worth a visit.

FUN F1:

By the time this newspaper hits the front porch, the Malaysian Grand Prix will have already ended.

If it was anything nearly as entertaining as last weekend's Australian Grand Prix, the F1 season will be off to a great start.

Whether it was the retirement of Michael Schumacher; or the very real rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso; or the ongoing battle between McLaren and Ferrari; or the infusion of a good deal of young talent in the series, F1 races have been much more exciting than in years past.

It still pains me greatly that there will be no USGP this year, but we keep hearing the door isn't closed on them returning — perhaps as soon as next year. I've got my fingers crossed.

SAD NOTE:

Former NHRA Funny Car driver Al Hoffman, died Thursday of a heart attack at age 60. He was runner-up in the points to John Force in 1995 and had 15 career wins.